Bag filling machines for agricultural products are known in the prior art. For years, agricultural products were stored in bins, elevators, silos, etc. As production on the farms increased, surpluses occurred and storage became more and more of a problem. The problem was so acute that farmers and elevator managers began simply to pile agricultural products on the ground. Spoilage occurred, but there was no other choice. Soon it was discovered that the grains could be contained and spoilage prevented at least along the bottom if piles were made on polyethylene sheets. It was also discovered that polyethylene sheet lined trenches were quite effective for storing silage. Slowly, there was a realization that silage and a few other agricultural products could be packed and stored in above ground bags. In this regard, there are now several bagging machines commercially available. A couple recent patents exemplify available bagging machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,036 shows a machine having an intake chamber from which silage is moved via a feeder shaft to a primary shaft before entering an output chamber tunnel. An agricultural bag is installed about the walls of the tunnel. Periodically, a tunnel clean out plate is forced by a pair of hydraulic cylinder assemblies toward the bag in order to compress silage into the bag. As the bag fills, the bagging machine moves in a direction away from the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,567 is designed differently, but also functions to press silage, haylage and other compressible products into an agricultural storage bag. This machine utilizes an auger to move material from a hopper into a chute around which a bag is attached.
The present invention was derived from the bag packing machines as just described, but is directed to an entirely different agricultural product and storage problem. Various grains are a primary ingredient for raw material for liquid products, such as beer, alcohol, etc. The solid by-product in the form of a grain mash or stillage is high in protein and, consequently, is an excellent feed stock for cattle or other animals. The problem is that such by-products spoil within a few days. Consequently, present practice requires immediate transport of such byproduct from a brewery or alcohol refinery to a feed lot for consumption within two or three days. Because of this spoilage problem, the market for brewers grains and stillage by-products is limited necessarily to large animal producers located within a few miles of the breweries or stills.
To distinguish the storage problem of brewers grains and stillage by-product from that of storing originally harvested grains or silage, it is useful to describe briefly the brewing process. For example, malting barley is boiled, usually in a solution of water and corn syrup while being circulated. After a period of time, the liquid, called wort, is pumped off so that hops and other ingredients may be added while aging to make beer. The mash by-product is a soupy mixture of the wet barley remains. The mixture is drained from the mixing tanks into transport containers, such as large semitrailers or dump trucks. It is this material which forms the commodity commonly called brewers grains. Stillage by-product from stills has a similar consistency, although formed from a different grain. In any case, these mixtures are sterile when drained from the mixing tanks, but unless they are stored in an air exchange-free environment within a few hours, they will spoil within a few days. It is then the problem of transferring these brewers grains and similar products from a transport container to an impervious, flexible agricultural bag for storage to which the present invention is directed.